Kisses
by Viv N -ChildishGrin
Summary: You want me to talk about what? [Shonen Ai, Yaoi. Hanamichi's POV. Can be seen as a serie of oneshots.]
1. Part 1: The First Kiss

**Title:** Kisses – Part 01: First Kiss  
**Author:** Viv  
**Genre:** romance/humor  
**Rating:** PG  
**Fandom:** Slam Dunk book - manga  
**Pairing:** HanaRu  
**Disclaimer:** hisses Mine! Aaaaaaaaaall mine! cackles  
**Summary:** _… You want me to talk about what? _Hanamichi's POV – part 01.

… Sorry?

Kisses?

You want me to talk about my first kiss?

Well, I guess you could say that my first kiss was, uh, an accident?

So I've never been quite sure if it could have been really qualified as a kiss but both Mitchy and Ryochin still maintain that it was, as accidental as it was.

So my first kiss was… with the least expected of person (even though Ayako-san and Yohei insisted that they had seen it coming – not the kiss, but the person that I kissed or, er, kissed me. Who cares at this point anyway? Oh, you do? Anyway!) and happened in the least expected way – so unexpected that Megane-kun almost fell over had it not been Mitchy holding him up while Gori spit out so hard the water he was drinking that poor Yasuda and Kakuta both ended up drenched. Everyone had they jaws hitting the gym floor.

It happened during my first year. And during basketball practice. I had since been part of the team for maybe about 3 months or so and we were having a match. My army was there, along with Haruko-san and her friends, Mitchy's friends and the (blasted) Rukawa fanclub, watching us (and mocking me).

I honestly have never met anyone as annoying as those airheads yet. Well, except for Kyota, that monkey-butt, but Ru, Ka, Wa and their clones are in a category of their own. Honestly, they were always disrupting our-

What was that? The kiss? Oh, right, sorry.

We were somewhere halfway through practice and I was trying to steal the ball from that stupid fox-boy when it happened.

Before both of us had even realized it, Ryota had already snatched the bouncing ball from Rukawa and taken off, which lead to Ishii – who was standing by the closest – to run after him. In the process, Ishii accidentally bumped into Rukawa.

And that stupid kitsune tripped forward and fell.

Taking me with him.

Because, as I said earlier, I was trying to steal the ball from him when he was still dribbling with it and that implies that I was facing him. And I did say that he fell forward, right? So he fell straight into- right, sorry, no I don't think you're stupid!

Back to the subject.

So Rukawa landed on me and even though I was slightly taller and heavier than him (I still am, now that I think of it, although we both do wear about the same size – wait, I never said that and you may absolutely not ask me how I know that), I basically got knocked over by him and ended up sprawled on the floor with him on top of me.

And his lips on mine.

I froze.

And you know what Ka- fox-boy did?

He froze too.

Which meant that we remained in that position for quite a while with our lips connected, making the contact longer than intended – not that any contact was intended at all to start with.

In front of the entire team and whoever else that was there.

It wasn't until we heard the sound of a ball hitting the floor – I think it was Kogure who dropped it – that Rukawa and me finally snapped out of it and separated in the blink of an eye.

And then we notice how everyone was staring- no, correction, gaping at us, eyes as large as saucers and mouths hanging so wide open that they were practically inviting flies in. Coach Anzai, who is usually so calm and collected, readjusted his glasses before settling on gaping too.

Rukawa and I were still on the floor but a few feet were separating us. We blinked back at everyone a few times before turning to each other at the same time.

And the fox actually blushed.

Blushed.

Rukawa blushed.

No one ever thought that the verb 'blush' would actually directly follow the noun (or more importantly, subject) Rukawa as an action.

And suddenly that seemed to trigger the world to start turning again.

Megane-kun fell back but Mitchy quickly caught him, Akagi spit out his drink on Kakuta and Yasuda, Ryota fell forward flat on his face while Ishii's forehead almost met the floor when he tripped on Ryochin, the Rukawa fanclub shrieked and fainted, Haruko, Matsui and Fujii and my guntai rubbed they eyes repeatedly, Mitchy's gang dropped the banner they were holding, Ayako dropped her fan, and so on and so on.

I kept staring at Rukawa in disbelief, my cheeks turning crimson like his.

My first kiss was with another guy.

My first kiss was with a teammate.

My first kiss was with THAT STUPID FOX!

And it turned out, that was also his first kiss (don't ask me how I know that).

"Do'ahou."

"Kitsune!"

And that lead to another fight between the two of us.

And that was it.

… What?

Now you want to know about my most memorable kiss?

… Uh.

---

September 4, 2005


	2. Part 2: The Most Memorable Kiss

**Title:** Kisses – Part 02: Most Memorable Kiss  
**Author:** Viv  
**Genre:** romance/humor  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Fandom:** Slam Dunk book - manga  
**Pairing:** Nyhahahahaha!  
**Disclaimer:** Yeah, I've got Rukawa and Hana locked up in my closet. Hehehehe…  
**Summary:** _… You want me to talk about what? _Hanamichi's POV – part 02.

… My most memorable kiss?

…

…

Do I have toooooooo?

…

ALRIGHTALRIGHTALRIGHT! I'll talk about it! Geez, you don't need to get mad at me, you know.

Nobody gets mad at the tensai! Nobody! Never-

Right, right, the kiss, sorry.

Uh, let's see, now how to begin this?

You don't care how?

… I still refuse to accept the fact that it was a kiss but because of stupid Sendoh, everyone insist that it was.

…

Well, um, it happened somewhere in the beginning of my second year at Shohoku, I guess. Nothing particularly interesting happened between the months that followed my first kiss to what I'm about to tell you about.

I mean, other than the basketball team actually making our way to the Japan interhigh tournament and becoming one of the top four schools in the country, that is. It was nothing more than a first for Shohoku, since it had never even made it to the regional semi-finals before. It was also just the first time that two teams from the same prefecture made it into the final four; Kainan and us, both proudly representing Kanagawa.

And Rukawa and I finally willingly working together to win against Sanno, only the best team in Japan over the last I-don't-know-how-many-years-and-frankly-I-don't-care, took everyone by surprise. I later heard from Haruko-san (and from the newspapers clippings that Yohei or Megane-kun sometimes brought me, much to the annoyance of Akagi) that the kitsune and I had quickly been dubbed the 'Golden pair', the 'Super rookie duo' and some other things like that. Tche! Although I'll admit that we made a great team, I still insist that it was I, the genius, who took the first step into insuring our victory.

NYHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Oh, and let's not forget about me being sent to a rehabilitation center since I hurt my back badly during that game. No need to worry about me though, I did it for the team after all! I'm the tensai, I knew I'd be fine in no time!

It was only a few months away from school (and consequently, basketball) – which incidentally also happened to be a few months closer to Ka- errr, fox-boy. Rukawa's training center with the Junior All-Japan team happened to be close by and we saw each other daily – though it took us quite a while to actually talk to each other.

Besides, we-

What?

What do you mean, I talk too much!

… Oh.

… Sorry.

See, it was around the beginning of my second year. Three weeks into the beginning of the year, I had gotten back to Shohoku a day before Rukawa.

By then Ryochin had fully stepped into his position as captain of our team, with the support of Ayako-san, Yasuda and the two others in their grade.

Of course, the moment I stepped back into the picture, everything became hectic and messy again. And then when Rukawa came back, all hell practically broke loose. Ayako-san was the only one who could discipline the two of us whenever we got into a fight (even Haruko-san had a harder time calming me down). Other than that, I think everyone but Ryochin were pretty amused by our antics, though we all knew our captain was more than happy to have us back although he wouldn't admit it.

Oh, yeah, I'm going off again.

Alright, so about two weeks after we got back, Shoyo, Ryonan, Kainan and our school decided to have a friendly match regrouping the five main starting players of each team from the previous year. This was, in a way, a good opportunity to show and introduce to the first year team members from all four schools to the matches they would be later be playing in.

Everything was quickly organized and before we knew it, the following week-end we found ourselves all on our way to Kainan High, because they apparently had an outside court and since the weather was so nice, well hey, why not have it outside?

Gori, Megane-kun and Mitchy were more than happy to be wearing the Shohoku uniform again (though our former captain refused to admit it).

The moment we stepped into the court though, Sendoh, the new captain of Ryonan, bounced up to us (and when I say bounced, I mean literally bounced) while Koshino, then appointed as vice-captain, slowly followed him, scowling at his best friend. I remember hearing that Hikoichi's voice shrieking "Unbelievable, it's Shohoku! Sakuragi and Rukawa are back! I need to write that down! The Golden pair!" to which Uozumi and Ikegami both promptly smacked him on the back, sending him sprawled to the concrete ground. The ape-king eventually ordered Fuku-chan to peel the squirt off the ground.

What?

Oh!

So as I was saying, Smiley came bouncing up to us, grinning like he always was.

"How are you guys?"

"…"

"Ah, Rukawa, talkative and expressive as always, I see!"

"…"

"What about you, Hana-kun?"

"…"

"Are you turning into Rukawa?"

"… What did you just call me?"

"Nothing. What's wrong, Hana-kun?"

"YOU! WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME!"

Big puppy eyes stared back at me.

"But Hana-kun! Aren't we friends?"

"SINCE WHEN- OW! GORIIIIIIIII!"

"You're too loud."

"OW! WHY DID YOU HIT ME AGAIN!"

"That was for calling me Gori."

I growled at Akagi before turning back to glare at Sendoh.

Again, big, happy, puppy eyes were beaming back at me.

My own eyes widened and I slowly leaned closer.

"A kiss, Hana-kun?"

"STOP CALLING ME THAT!"

"Kiss?"

"I'm not kissing anyone or anything!"

"Please? If you do, I'll stop calling you Hana-kun."

"…"

I kept staring at Sendoh for a while, my face heating up. Somewhere in the back of my mind I could hear Kyota cackling something like "the redhead monkey is afraid! He won't do it!" and see Koshino trying hard to refrain himself from strangling Sendoh.

Now that I think of it, Ka- kitsune was openly glaring at Smiley. If Rukawa often did that on the court or at me, they usually meant 'I-will-beat-up-your-sorry-ass-in-this-game-and-you-will-lose' (actually, at me, they were more of a 'hey-piss-off-do'ahou' look), this one went far past the icy glares he usually gave… it seemed more like something along the line 'I. Will. Beat. You. Up. You. Fucking. Bastard.'

Really scary.

Not that the genius that I am is ever scared.

Anyway, let's get this over with.

… What do you mean, it's about time!

So I stared at Sendoh.

And he smiled back at me… with a strange gleam in his eyes.

And I stared.

And he smiled.

And I stared.

And he smiled.

And I quietly nodded.

And he instantly beamed back at me.

Hikoichi fainted, Uozumi fell of a bench, Kyota stopped laughing, Maki choked on the water he was drinking, Fujima and Hanagata tripped over each other, Haruko-san blushed, Yasuda and Kakuta quickly edged away from Gori, Ayako-san dropped her fan, Ryota and Ishii walked into each other, Mitchy grabbed Kogure so he wouldn't fall back, Koshino's hands were slowly moving towards Sendoh's neck, everyone else turned noticeably paler and gaped and Rukawa's expression became clearly murderous.

If looks could kill, Smiley would've been buried ten feet under the ground on the spot.

… Don't ask me how I remember that.

Sendoh grinned.

"Really?"

"…"

"Now, now, come closer, Hana-kun, nothing's gonna bite you."

"I thought you said- "

"After the kiss, Hana-kun."

"…"

"Closer, Hana-kun."

"…"

I stopped in front of Smiley and stared up at gravity-defying hair before shutting tight my eyes.

I heard the idiot shuffling closer still and then…

I felt a warm, slightly rough, wet, wet, wet tongue give my face a mighty lick that went from my chin up to my nose.

I had spit all over my chin, lips, cheeks and UP MY NOSE.

UAAAAAAAAAAAAARG! I thought.

"UAAAAAAAAAAAAARG!" I shrieked.

"UAAAAAAAAAAAAARG!" everyone else shrieked.

My eyes popped open as I saw the Shoyo benchwarmer trying desperately to not throw up, Fukuda and Jin turning green, Akagi hiding behind a bush and everyone else gagging. Even Coach Taoka looked like he was about to faint.

…

"EWEWEWEWEWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEW!"

"Thank you, Hanamichi. That was very nice of you."

"Nice? NICE! DON'T YOU MEAN STUPID! THAT WAS DISGUSTING!"

"Now, now, Hanamichi- "

"I HAVE DROOL ALL OVER MY FACE!"

"But Hanamichi!"

And again, large innocent puppy eyes beamed up at me.

"…"

"But Hana- "

POW!

"Hiro-kuuuuuuun!"

"You disgusting asshole! Stay away from me!"

"But Hiro-kun- "

"Sendoh, what possessed you to ask Sakuragi to- "

"But- "

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU AKIRA SENDOH!"

"But Hanamichi was willing- "

POW!

Everyone stared at the fist that had delivered the second punch to Smiley's head.

And then everyone looked at the arm that it was connected to.

And then at the broad shoulder.

And then at the neck.

And then at the face.

…

Sendoh smiled, as if the two bumps on his head were only figments of our imagination.

"… Rukawa?"

"Don't call him Hanamichi."

"…"

Everyone blinked.

"…"

And then Sendoh turned back to look at me.

"I'm so glad you accepted, Ha- "

POW!

"JUST GET THAT FREAKING PUPPY AWAY FROM ME RIGHT NOW BEFORE IT ALSO DECIDES TO SWALLOW ME BECAUSES IT LOVES THE TENSAI TOO MUCH!"

Three bumps and Smiley had kissed the concrete ground of the court and was knocked out cold while said puppy was dropped from Sendoh's arms before happily prancing around my feet, tongue hanging and tail wagging.

So yeah, that was my most memorable kiss.

It came from a puppy.

… Stop laughing.

I SAID STOP LAUGHING AT THE TENSAI!

What?

Only if I talk about another kiss?

My most breathtaking kiss?

But- but- but-

…

Arg!

---

September 15, 2005


	3. Part 3: The Most Breathtaking Kiss

**Title:** Kisses – Part 03: Most Breathtaking Kiss  
**Author:** Viv  
**Genre:** romance/humor  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Fandom:** Slam Dunk book - manga  
**Pairing:** HanaRu (What else?)  
**Disclaimer:** Yeah, I've got Rukawa and Hana locked up in my closet. Hehehehe…  
**Summary:** _… You want me to talk about what? _Hanamichi's POV – part 03.

**Author's note:** Please correct me for any mistakes that I have unententionally made. Can someone tell me if I'm getting the (few) basketball terms that I've used right? I usually read mangas in French and I'm not Japanese so if you can correct me anywhere – the terms, the nicknames, etc, please do so. (Please ignore english grammatical and spelling errors, though, because I usually go back to re-read and re-edit my stories more than once after I post them up.)

And I got you with that second part, didn't I? You all fell in the trap, MWUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! (I'll say it right now, the Slam Dunk pairing that holds the #1 spot in my heart is the do'ahou and the kitsune. –starts squealing like a teenie-bopper- )

---

... My most breathtaking kiss?

…

No!

What!

NOOOOOOOOOO!

IDON'TWANNATALKABOUTIT!

…

I- uh- guh- ah- gah- alright, okay, I'll tell you!

…

It happened the same day I got… _licked_ by Smiley's puppy.

If you remember, the previous year teams of Shoyo, Kainan, Ryonan and Shohoku had gathered at Kainan High for a friendly mini tournament as a way of introducing all of our new members to the world of high school basketball.

See, Takezato was originally invited too, but they had quickly – very quickly, maybe a bit too quickly – declined the offer. They probably feared the tensai's basketball skills! NYHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Yeah, so the rest of us decided to call up Shoyo instead.

…

Right, right.

So after a draw, our three-days school break-turned-basketball 'tournament' was determined as followed (Ayako-san, our very efficient manager, was the one who wrote out the entire schedule and kept everyone, and I mean _everyone_, on track):

_SATURDAY_

_Morning, 10:30 AM – Ryonan vs. Shohoku_

_11:30 AM to 01:30 PM – Lunch break_

_Afternoon, 01:30 PM - Kainan vs. Shoyo_

_SUNDAY_

_Morning, 10:30 AM - Kainan vs. Ryonan_

_11:30 AM to 01:30 PM – Lunch break_

_Afternoon, 01:30 PM - Shohoku vs. Shoyo_

_MONDAY_

_Morning, 10:30 AM – Ryonan vs. Shoyo_

_11:30 AM to 01:30 PM – Lunch break_

_Afternoon, 01:30 PM – Kainan vs. Shohoku_

_Evening, 5:30 PM – Party for the participating teams, hosted by the Kainan team_

Our small tournament had attracted a lot of attention and many came to attend our games. People from Aida-san, Hikoichi's sister, to the Rukawa shinetai to every Kanagawa high schools' teams (and even a few universities) to my neighbors to the owner of the sport shop I got my Nikes from to the Toyatama and Sannoh team themselves attended the matches. A third of the crowd actually came from outside of our district, our city even.

Of course, they all came to see the genius that I am!

NYHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

HEY- I AM NOT- WHAT DOES CONCEITED MEAN ANYWAY!

…

I AM NOT ARROGANT!

…

Uh. Sorry.

Anyway, it happened on the final day, while Shohoku was playing against the nozaru and the old man's team.

Takasago was, once again, my main opponent. Of course, I had greatly improved in the few weeks I had been back in Shohoku and so – nyhahahaha! – the poor guy was having a much harder time stopping me.

It was during the second half-time of the match, and the score was 90-88, for Kainan, with 4 minutes and 21 seconds left.

Talk about almost déja-vu.

So- what do you mean, you don't care about the score!

… Umpf.

Alright, so Ryocchin had just managed to steal the ball from Maki when he noticed that I had freed myself from Takasago (tensai! I am the tensai!). He threw the ball across the court and I quickly managed to grab it while running and instantly took off in a mad dash toward the basket, all the while dribbling.

Now the kitsune and Kiyota-monkey-butt (guarding Rukawa), who were close by, and Takasago took off right after me immediately.

I suddenly screeched to a stop outside the three-point line and – yup – took a shot, remembering the tips (and yells and slaps) that Micchy had given me during a last minute intensive training with the 'original' team a few days before.

My knees bent, my hands held the ball loosely against my chest as I squinted my eyes at the basket and then I extended my body and jumped, my arms and hands raising and instinctively positioning in the right position to throw the orange ball.

And at the exact moment the ball left my fingertips, I felt something ramming into my side, and hard.

I lost my balance and fell over, realizing that it wasn't a something, but that it was _two someones_ who were maybe going to squash me to death on the concrete ground.

I hit the ground and suddenly got my breath cut off, dimly aware that Takasago had failed to stop himself on time and had tripped over the nozaru which caused Kyota's elbow to hit my chest really hard.

Normally I would've just shoved off anyone lying over me but this time I just… couldn't do it.

I had realized that I couldn't breathe and was starting to panic. At the back of my mind, I could hear a whistle blowing but nothing else went through my mind. The only thing I could think was 'Get'emoffmeget'emoffmeget'emoffme!' and that I was suffocating.

Suddenly I noticed someone rushing to my side and had roughly hauled/yanked monkey-butt and Takasago off of me and was kneeling down beside me, carefully helping me up to a half-sitting, half-lying position.

By then I was still desperately trying to get some air to my lungs but somehow my body refused to cooperate and felt my senses started to turn numb. Everything slowly became fuzzy before my eyes and darkness was edging up on me when suddenly-

I felt something warm on my lips and parting them.

And that brought me back to reality and full consciousness.

My eyes snapped wide open, and it dimly registered in my mind that I was staring right into pools of deep, deep, deep blue before realizing that those pools of deep, deep, deep blue were very familiar eyes.

And that those beautiful- Imeanfamiliar! eyes were under messy but soft strands of black hair that were tickling my forehead.

I froze.

Only one name went through my mind but I quickly pushed that thought aside.

I gasped, and suddenly a tongue made its way in between my lips and _damn_, I pretty much forgot that I had lost my breath, that I was _supposed_ to be in desperate need of air, because blues orbs closed and I followed suit and willingly letting my 'savior' taste me.

When that hot, hot, hot mouth left mine a moment later, I blinked repeatedly and took large gulps of oxygen, suddenly regaining my ability to breathe as sharp blue eyes reopened and silently stared at me, with a strong arm still wrapped around my shoulders – the free hand gently cupping my chin – supporting me up slightly.

Soon my erratic breathing had finally calming down under his soothing and warm breath against my cheek, I leaned into his hard chest, no longer fearing for my life – hey, don't roll your eyes, I could've died right there! – and heard him let out a soft sigh of relief.

And then we noticed that there was complete and utter silence around us.

I pulled back and – _oh, shit_.

I blinked at Ka- kistune.

And he stared back.

And I blinked again.

And he continued staring.

And I glared at him.

And he kept staring back.

And then someone – Jin? – cleared their throat and our attention turned to everyone watching us.

They stared at us.

We stared back.

They kept staring.

We blinked at them.

They still stared.

And I blushed hotly.

… and so did the kitsune.

…

DON'T CALL US CUTE!

Why?

Because- because- because-

Just because…

JUST BECAUSE ALRIGHT!

And then before anyone had the chance to say anything, the stupid kitsune opened his mouth and let out an expressionless: "He couldn't breathe. I was giving him mouth-to-mouth."

And then to me: "Do'ahou. Be more careful. Don't soil a basketball court by dying on it."

And while no one seemed to notice because that last part was rather mean, I could hear that underlying hint of worry and protectiveness in his voice that he was trying to disguise with his I-don't-care-face.

See, the tensai is very observant!

What?

What d'ya mean I'm a completely clueless do'ahou?

I know for a fact that Ka- kitsune can kis- uh, nothing, never mind.

So I blushed again and when he got up and extended his hand to me, I shyly took it and allowed him to help me up but looked away.

Rukawa then turned to the referee and coldly asked if the game was going to continue or if everyone would keep gaping at us like goldfishes with brains smaller than the size of a pea, to which the referee managed to stutter an affirmative response.

But everyone kept staring at us.

And then we realized that we were still holding hands and promptly let go and moved away from each other.

"I gave him mouth-to-mouth. No close your mouths because I won't give it to any of you." (At that point the – retarded – Rukawa shinetai and – not retarded - Haruko-san fainted on the spot. Fuji and Matsui tried to keep Haruko from rolling down the stands.)

And to our teammates: "Let's play."

And we finally noticed that Megane-kun was on the court holding up a hyperventilating Micchy, Ayako-san had whacked Ryocchin back to order with her infamous and deadly fan, and Kuwata, Sasaoka and Shiozaki were trying to bring Gori back to earth (Kakuta, Yasuda and Ishii were huddled behind the bench, away from Ryota and Akagi). The Shoyo, Ryonan and Kainan teams and their coaches were sweating like the Niagara Falls, trying to digest what had just happened, while Minami from Toyatama and a handful of other players (from Sannoh, Josei, Takezato, etc.) had fallen off their seats from the stands. All the first years watched on in bewilderment as my gundam and Micchy's gang were spluttering out their drinks while only two remained completely unaffected.

Ojayi- I mean Coach Anzai, remained silent for a while and then 'hohoho'-ed gently (seems nothing can disturb him anymore) while Sendoh chuckled and smiled his usual smile (and I instantly shuddered as images of a perky black puppy and a rough and wet, wet, wet tongue licked me because inside, I was sobbing hysterically at that memory).

The crowd then sweatdropped at them.

Eventually everyone calmed down and we picked up where we had left.

Turns out that even thought I had been practically _run over_ by two assholes, the ball had still made it in (BECAUSE I'M THE GENIUS NYHAHAHAHA!), earning Shohoku an extra three points… and Takasago was also given a foul, giving me three shots to the basket. (Personally, I think that nozaru should've been given a foul too. Tche!)

And so I got another three points in for the team, thus tying the score.

NYHAHAHAHAHAHA! I'M A TENSAI!

…

HEY! SAY THAT AGAIN WHY DON'T YOU!

Anyway, we won the final game, with a score of 98 to 93.

NYHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

The tensai that I am lead us to our victory!

NYHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-

WHAT DO YOU MEAN I'M LOUD!

Tche!

So the final scores came out to this (carefully written down by that Hikoichi kid and Ayako-san):

_SATURDAY_

_Ryonan vs. Shohoku: 87 to 88 (Shohoku)_

_Kainan vs. Shoyo: 86 to 85 (Kainan)_

_SUNDAY_

_Kainan vs. Ryonan: 91 to 90 (Kainan) _

_Shohoku vs. Shoyo: 92 to 89 (Shohoku)_

_MONDAY_

_Ryonan vs. Shoyo: 84 to 85 (Shoyo) _

_Kainan vs. Shohoku: 93 to 98 (Shohoku)_

_FINAL TALLY:_

_Kainan: 2 wins, 1 loss_

_Ryonan: 1 win, 2 losses_

_Shohoku: 3 wins, 0 loss_

_Shoyo: 1 win, 2 losses_

_FINAL POSITIONS:_

_1rst: Shohoku_

_2nd: Kainan_

_3rd: Ryonan and Shoyo_

…

NYHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! IF THE TENSAI HADN'T BEEN THERE, SHOHOKU WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SO GREAT! NYHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Sorry, sorry.

Hey I apologized to you already!

Yeah, so that was that.

Oh, and would you believe that the next day in school Haruko-san came up to me, giggling, and greeted me with a copy of the local journal?

Yes? Well try believing the next part.

Right there, in the sports section, was a complete two pages article by Aida-san on the friendly tournament.

With a huge up close picture of the kitsune- uh, giving me mouth-to-mouth.

Underneath it, the caption:

"_Kanagawa's, and maybe even Japan's, high school basketball Golden Pair, both in their second year, Shohoku's numbers 10 (Sakuragi Hanamichi) and 11 (Kaede Rukawa) – AREN'T THEY JUST THE CUTEST THING EVER?_"

…

WHAT!

YOU SHOULD BE SYMPATHIZING WITH THE POOR TENSAI HERE!

…

WE'RE NOT CUTE!

…

Now leave me alone.

…

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!

I don't wanna talk about my sweetest kiss!

NONONONONONONONONONONO!

THE TENSAI WON'T SPEAK! THE TENSAI WON'T TELL YOU!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARG!

---

October 01, 2005


	4. Part 4: The Sweetest Kiss

**Title:** Kisses – Part 04: Sweetest Kiss  
**Author:** Viv  
**Genre:** romance/humor/light drama  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Fandom:** Slam Dunk book - manga  
**Pairing:** HanaRu (What else?)  
**Disclaimer:** Nyaaaaaaaa, Hisashi-kun, where did you go?  
**Summary:** _… You want me to talk about what? _Hanamichi's POV – part 04.

**Author's note:** After this part, they will probably **only be two more parts** or so. Is it just me or do each part just gets longer and longer and much fluffier?

Anyone is welcomed to leave any drabble requests or comments at my writing-livejournal too.

At** childishgrin **at** livejournal **(there's a link in my profile page), where there's an archive section so you can find this serie of stories much more quickly. Otherwise you can browse around, check out what other pairings I write and before leaving some feedbacks or requests – I'd rather not write on any fandom that I am not quite familiar enough with.

There are also links to my 'art-livejournal' (**offthesidelines**) there, where you can find some pages of short "mangas" I'm currently working on and such.

-----

The sweetest one?

No, no, no, no, no, noooooooooooooooooooooo!

But why do I have to talk about it?

Wait, what the hell do you want me to talk about again?

…

NO!

NOOOOOO!

What part of- what?

Of course I'm a tensai!

Yosh!

NYHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Alright, the tensai will tell you about his sweetest kiss, since you admire him so much!

Right, right, sorry.

So anyway, I was turning seventeen when it happened. It was a Saturday afternoon when the kitsune called me to come over to his house.

WHAT?

I went there to study! Or at least, that's what Gori insisted we did, even though he was no longer our captain. Apparently Ayako-san, Ryochin and Haruko-san had informed him and Megane-kun that Rukawa and me were failing many of our classes yet again and still did not have any will to open a single book. Even Haruko's insisting on tutoring the both of us proved to be useless since fox-boy would fall asleep the moment his butt came in contact with a chair (or even before!) while me and Haruko would constantly get distracted and start chattering away about everything except our school assignments.

See, Ryochin, Ayako-san, Yasu and the rest of the final year students in our team had went to Gori for advice (in other word, to cry for help) who refused categorically. Now Mitchy, who came to Shohoku regularly to visit us, heard of the situation when Ryochin complained to him about us. So Mitchy took pity of poor captain Myagi and so went to discuss it (or laugh about it) with his ever caring boyfriend (though none of them would admit it) who also happened to be our ex-vice-captain.

So when Akagi went to vent to his best friend (who happened to be, well, who else? Megane-kun!), Kogure, the ever caring, gentle, calm and overly-worried-about-others Kogure, reminded him that it was their duty to help out their former team. Now Mitchy decided to help his boyfriend (and coach Anzai) so he joined too (though he succeeded more in irritating Gori then persuading him to help out).

So our ex-captain hesitated for a few days.

And then firmly declined (to put it gently) when Ayako-san came to him once more.

Which meant then that the entire team (minus me and the kitsune) stomped over to his house and asked again for his help (or rather, begged for it) as Kogure and Mitchy looked on, sweating profusely and pleading along (actually, Mitchy was making fun of everyone until Megane-kun scowled at him).

Yet again, Akagi did not budge from his position until our savior (well that's what the others called her … was the situation really that bad for the team to be that desperate? WHAT DO YOU MEAN I TEND TO BE MENTALLY CHALLENGED?), in the form of his younger sister, pulled him aside and pulled a perfect Haruko-moment on him – she gave him large puppy eyes and produced tears at the corner of them while clasping her hands together and quietly pleaded for him to do something.

Gori's answer?

"ALRIGHTI'LLDOITGODAMMIT!"

… heh.

So Akagi tutored (or rather, forced us into doing our homeworks and such) us every Saturday for a little over a month and as a results, our grades improved dramatically. Kitsune and I pretty much went from miserably failing students (who didn't care) to slightly above average students (who still didn't care, as long as they could remain on the basketball team), much to the shock of, well, the _entire_ school.

Even my guntai stayed away from me for a few days after they found out my grades for the many quizzes (English, math, Japanese lit) we had one week, wondering what the hell had happened to their friend Hanamichi.

"Who are you and what have you done to Hanamichi Sakuragi?" had they exclaimed once.

To which three of them added: "Your grades are even higher than Youhei!"

Off course, nyhahahahahaha, since I'm the tensai and had simply hidden my mind's potential very well, nyhahahahahaha!

…

NYHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-

Kaede? ImeanKITSUNE!

My intelligence leaked onto him, so that's why he got smarter too! Nyhahahaha!

Huh?

Oh, right, right.

So it was a Saturday afternoon when my brand new cellphone (my grandparents, who had come down a few days earlier from Tokyo and had just left to go back, bought it for me) rang and buzzed.

Who was on the other line?

It was- what? How did you know? I already said it? Oh, okay. Hehehe…

What? How he already knew my number when I just got the cell? Errr… Well he happened to be there when I had went to pick up my grandparents at the train station.

Why was he there?

… Just because! So stopping asking the genius so many questions!

Anyway.

… Where was I?

Oh yeah! So I answered my cell and fox-boy, in his usual flat tone, replied: "_Gor- Akagi-sempai had been here for half and hour already. Get your ass over here._"

"Well tell Gori that I had to take my gramps back to the train station and see them off first! Family's important you know!"

"… _I know Sakuragi._" Rukawa's voice was softer.

Other than the guntai and grandparents, only Coach Anzai, his wife and Rukawa knew I was an orphan and had been living on my own for a few years already.

"…"

"_Do'ahou._"

"… What?"

"_Don't think about it too much and just come over. We're waiting for you._"

"…"

"_**I'm** waiting for you._" he added quietly.

I smiled over the phone.

"… I'll be over in fifteen."

"_Alright… Do'ahou._"

"STUPID FOX!"

So about fourteen minutes later I was standing in front of a large house, ringing the bell.

A man with grey hair and laughing brown eyes, one of Rukawa's family servants, came to open the door and grinned when he saw me.

"Sakuragi-kun! Pleasure to see you here again, young man. Young master Rukawa-kun and your friend Akagi-kun are waiting for you in the living room."

"Thank you!"

I lazily made my way to the spacious living room but before I had even got there, I bumped – practically slammed – into the kitsune himself. He blinked at me repeatedly before giving me a small smile.

"Do'ahou. Not a moment too late."

"Umpf."

"Gori was about ready to throw his books out the windows. The gardener would've had a fit if he found books and pencils in the rose bushes."

"Heh."

"Come on, before sempai explodes." He gently grabbed my elbow and pulled me along with him.

"Kitsune! Why is it so dark?"

The moment I had stepped into the living room, I had noticed that the curtains were drawn down (they never were during the day) and that no lights were turned on. I could only make out some dark blurry forms and frowned at the strange scene before me.

"Oi! Kitsune, why is it so dark? What are you up too? And where's Gori?"

Thump!

"OW! WHAT THE F-"

"STOP CALLING ME THAT, IDIOT!"

"… Akagi?"

Someone cleared their throat at my left. "Yes."

"What's going on here?"

…

"**SURPRISE!**"

When the lights were turned on, I was found crouched and quivering behind Rukawa. One of my hands was gripping the back of the kitsune's right leg's pant while the other was on my chest, trying to keep my heart from leaping out.

It took me a few seconds for my eyes to get used to the sudden brightness of the room and when they did, I slowly remembered where I was and noticed the small groups of persons scattered over various places in the room.

My guntai and Haruko-san and her friends behind a couch. Ayako-san, Ryochin, Megane-kun and Mitchy behind another couch. Some Ryonan, Kainan and Shoyo players came stumbling out of a closet (and in the process all piled over one another beside its door when Kiyota had tripped on the carpet and ended sprawled on the floor, triggering Fuku-chan to collapse on him as Megane followed suit and soon the rest fell too, the last ones being Hikoichi and Jin). Ojayi-Anzai and his wife were seated on a small couch under a window. The rest of the Shohoku team had their heads poking out from behind curtains and such. Even Mitchy's gang was there, their heads sticking out form under the couches.

I stood up, embarrassed, and my gaze swept across the room before ending on fox-boy, who was facing me, his face as expressionless as always and I stared at him in bewilderment for a moment.

And then I finally settled on roaring at the other occupants of the room.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TRYING TO DO FUCKING GIVE ME A HEART ATTACK OR JUST KILL ME GODAMMIT?"

Everyone blinked at me before finally sweatdropping. Those who had stumbled out of the closet picked themselves, grunting and huffing, and Youhei laughed, breaking the short silence.

"Hanamichi… did you forget your birthday?"

"What? Of course not! I'm the tensai, I know when my birth- wait… _oh!_"

I had completely forgotten my seventeenth birthday.

'_So **that's **why grandpa and grandma came to spend a few days with me and gave me a cellphone._'

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

Everyone finally erupted in guffaws and I did the first thing I had only done twice in the last four years, since my father's death, except when Coach Anzai had an attack the previous year, triggering back those painful memories, and when I had hurt my back during our match against Sannoh the year before.

I cried.

I started bawling like a kid and before I knew it, found myself in a warm embrace and strong arms wrapped around my shoulders and waist, a hand soothingly rubbing my back as the tears I tried to hold back came spilling, uncontrollable and unstoppable. I cried, my nose buried in the crook of a neck, and tightened my grasp on the shirt covering the firm chest I was leaning against.

I cried and sobbed and bawled and mumbled incoherently into a familiar neck, releasing a torrent of emotions that I had never realized I had kept in for so long.

With those unbidden tears I thought of the mother I had never gotten the chance to know but who had loved me for the first two years of my life. An energetic, cheerful and beautiful redhead who had been the first to hug me in her tender embrace, had been there to see my first step, heard my first word, nursed my first scratches and sang me lullabies to sleep before leaving this world.

I thought of the father who had watched me grow up until I was thirteen, who had been amused at my sudden growth spurt when I turned twelve. The man who was proud of me despite my failing grades and constant fighting, but would never have the pride of knowing that his only son was now a rising high school basketball player.

I thought of the parents of my mother who had watched over me until I was eleven, who had seen their only daughter pass away, who did everything to keep her memory alive in their grandson, who watched over me for her, who would never get the chance to come encourage me to my games.

I thought of my father's parents, who despite the pain of losing their only child, their daughter-in-law and some of their closest friends and living so far away from me, still loved me so much despite the distance that separated us.

And most of all, I cried when I realized that my parents and my maternal grandparents would never get to meet them, these amazing people that had been teasing, mocking, and yet supporting me throughout the last year. These persons that had always been there for me, always finding some times to make sure that I was fine, these persons who always worried about me and yet trusted me enough to take care of myself, even if they would never admit it out loud.

And I cried as it hit me how much they cared, how much of an important place they held in my heart, and how I'd never find myself grateful and worthy enough of calling them my friends.

And so I just kept crying and crying an crying.

When my sobs subsided a few minutes later, I looked up to find everyone staring at me. The guntai were grinning at me while the rest looked on worriedly. I felt something nuzzle my cheek and turned my head to find myself gazing in soft blue pools.

The corner of Rukawa's lips curled up slightly and he gently turned me around, slightly urging me to move forward.

"I- I… I didn't think…"

I smiled (according to Haruko-san, I looked like a small child, with my lower lips slightly quivering and my blushing cheeks), warmth filling my heart. Wiping away the few stray tears that remained and a few hiccups, I finally managed to whisper something out.

"… Thank you."

When I realized that the others were still frowning, my grin widened.

"Thank you. _Thank you so much._"

The guntai instantly swarmed around, laughing loudly and giving me pats and light punches on the back and shoulders.

"Hanamichi, you big baby! We made you cry! Didn't think we'd live to see this day!"

I joined in their laugh and soon everyone also followed suit when they understood that my tears were not of pain, but that I was indeed crying in happiness, grateful and touched that I had friends who cared enough to go through all this trouble just for me. It had been years since anyone but the guntai and my grandparents had shown me any real signs of affection.

Akagi ruffled my red hair (though they had drastically naturally darkened by then from when I had started at Shohoku) and smiled in a way that was almost akin to how he smiled at his sister.

"Youhei and Rukawa told us it was your birthday. Why didn't you tell us? We wouldn't want one of Shohoku's star players to spend such a sad and boring birthday! And after all the hard work you've done and those good grades, you deserved a break, you know."

Around five hours later we were all tired (from so much dancing and playing games – except for Oyaji and his wife Anzai-san who just sat there watching us like an old couple watching over their grandchildren) and nursing full bellies and I was busy unwrapping the many gifts I had received.

While everyone was scrambling to drag or carry in their gifts though, Anzai-san gave me a scarf she had knitted, tenderly wrapping it around my neck like a mother taking care of her young son and smiling proudly when she stepped back to let Ojayi step closer to me. Coach looked at me for a long moment before gently chuckling, his usual 'ho ho ho' resonating in my ears through the music playing in the room was not exactly at the lowest volume. No one really paid us any attention. He slowly lifted a hand and dropped it on my shoulder before giving it a light squeeze. Then he simply stared at me a while longer, his small eyes twinkling behind his glasses.

"Sakuragi-kun… they know. You don't have to hide them your family situation, for they care about you enough to look over you and look out for you."

I blinked at him.

"But- how?"

"Ho ho ho. Kogure-kun suspected something and asked me. Your guntai eventually told the rest of the team. The moment their heard about your birthday and about your… situation, everyone had instantly agreed on doing something for you. I don't know how that got to Hikoichi-kun's ears, ho ho ho, bless that boy, but he quickly spread out the news and as you can see, many of those considered or were considered to be your rivals had been more than willing to join in and help out."

"…"

"They care about you very much, Sakuragi-kun. So do I, and not just as players and a coach. Do you see that?"

"…" I could already feel the tears slowly forming in my eyes again.

"… Hmmm, that scarf looks very good on you, Sakuragi-kun. Ho ho ho… yes, very nice, very nice, hmmm, I have such a talented little wife, ho ho ho…"

And with that, he gave my shoulder a few pats and turned around.

"And Sakuragi-kun?"

I looked up to stare at the back of his head.

"I am sure that your parents are watching over you somewhere. And they must be very proud of their son."

He paused, 'ho ho ho'-ed once more and then slowly trudged back to his seat beside his wife.

'_Thank you so much._'

I kept blinking for a couple of times, until Takamiya threw an empty can at the back of my head to which I instantly responded by shrieking and turning around to give him a good headbutt. I then cheerfully started unwrapping all the large colorful boxes and the envelopes waiting for me.

The Ryonan and Kainan members had bought together a large flat screen television for me. The Shoyo members there gave me seasonal double passes to a new amusement park that were to open in a few weeks not too far from Kanegawa. The guntai and Haruko-san and her friends had put money together for a DVD player. The Shohoku team and Ayako-san got me a new CD player. Mitchy and his friends gave me some gift certificates to a music store and Gori and Megane-kun gave me some gift certificates to (what the hell?) a bookstore. The kitsune, much to the surprise of the others, bought me a bike (and he later slipped in my jacket a CD he had burned for me – isn't that swee- just freaking corny! Tche! The tensai is not a girl!).

When that was done and that I was as happy as a child in a pool of chocolates, marshmellows and candies, one of the Rukawas maids appeared in the living with a large cake.

A large chocolate-vanilla cheesecake with a thin layer of custard and many strawberries on top.

…

Even fox-boy had to at least chuckle at the expression on my face, because goddamn it looked _good_ and I was droooooling.

Of course, then came the usual let's-smash-a-piece-in-Hanamichi's-face-since-it's-his-birthday.

So I found myself with a handful of cake in my face but quickly retaliated against the person that had been assigned send that piece flying into my face (who also happened to be the one person who feared my headbutts the least).

Rukawa Kaede.

But of course, right after I succeeded in shoving a fistful of cake into his mouth (and on his cheeks and on his chin and on- you get the point? Alright, alright!), I tripped over my own feet (curse you, you clumsy feet!) and found myself in his arms again.

Rukawa caught me quite easily and straightened me before lifting a hand and running it through my hair, dark blue orbs almost glaring intently at my red face.

And then he did something none of us had ever seen him done (even myself, when I was already his- eeerrr, never mind!) before.

The kitsune grinned. (!)

And then laughed. (!)

All of the room's occupants gaped at him – even Ojayi and Sendoh – and many servants' heads popped up into the living room, eyes as wide as saucers.

Eventually Rukawa's laugh turned into low chuckles and I kept staring at him, blinking in surprise.

'_C- cute. So cute. He looks so cute like this._'

When he finally stopped laughing, he looked up at me and gave me that soft smile he kept only for me and when no one else was around. A gentle finger swiped away a piece of chocolate cheesecake on my cheek.

"You're so cute, Hana-kun."

I heard everyone gasp around me as I finally gave in and did what I had wanted to do since I had bumped into the kitsune earlier.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and quickly pulled him closer, tongue peeking out to lick that spot of custard at the corner of his lips and then met my lips with his parted ones, my eyes slipping shut as I forgot that we were in a crowded room.

Kaede replied by tightened his hold on me, deepening the kiss and I could taste chocolate-vanilla cheesecake and custard and strawberry in his hot, wicked mouth and something else distinctively him, sweet – like… like fudge, and butterscotch, and coffee, and maybe even mint – and so damn delicious and so addictive.

And then someone coughed and cleared their throat.

Our eyes snapped open and we stood still for a while, our lips still connected, before slowly separating and letting our breaths slow down. Our arms were still around each other when we noticed the rest of the room still gaping, jaws hanging and arms dangling by their sides. Coach Anzai and his wife seemed to be the only ones unfazed, smiling gently at us and nodding in amusement, as if to tell us that they had known all along. We both blanched.

Then Haruko-san and Ayako-san started giggling and squealing and giddily skipped over, fussing over us, claiming they "knew it, we knew it all along! Ah ha!" and how adorable we were together while we remained frozen, rooted to our spot. My guntai, by then, were rolling on the floor and laughing their asses off, tears streaming down their faces. Sendoh grinned and practically draped himself over a scowling and blushing Koshino. Megane-kun smiled before letting out a squeak as Mitchy came up behind him and dropped his hands on his shoulders before giving him a peck on his temple. Ryochin blinked at us a few times before directing a hopeful gaze at his beloved Ayako-san, his cheeks suspiciously red and giant pink hearts appearing in his eyes.

The rest of the room, however, kept staring at us. Finally Gori, eyes closed, rubbed his temples, an irritated expression on his face. Kiyota, on the other hand, started cackling hysterically and pointed at us.

"NAHAHAHAHAHAHA! TWO IDIOTS! NAHAHAHA, A PERFECT MATCH!"

And obviously Uozumi, being the ape-king that he is, promptly calmed him down by dropping his fist on the monkey-butt's empty head much to Maki's relief. Behind the wild monkey, Jin and the old man shook their heads at their (current or former) teammate's antics while the other players grimaced, exasperated, and decided to ignore monkey-ass. Hikoichi, eyes wide, was juggling a videocam and a notepad and pen before a frowning Hanagata finally grabbed the camera.

The "Mi-chaaaaaaaan!" group and Fuji and Matsui, on the other hand, merely shrugged at each other after the initial shock were off.

Finally, Rukawa and me relaxed and I smiled in relief – fox-boy had immediately slipped back on his expressionless mask. Despite his face, however, his eyes seemed to contain warmth and glee and the way he bumped our foreheads together after he had wiped my face clean hinted at the feelings we had hidden from others for quite a while.

And so that was it happened.

… My sweetest kiss.

It happened on my birthday.

…

What? What do you mean, when? You should know that I was born on April 1rst!

Tche! I'm expecting some good birthday gifts from you from now on. I need a new discman. Or maybe an mp3 player. Or how about new basketb-

…

That was how my sweetest kiss happened, and in the process unwittingly revealed our relationship to our closest friends. Actually, I knew right then that they were more than friends. I came to realize that they were all tied to me when they had all accepted Kaede and me together, despite the various reactions. They simply each had their own way of showing us they were alright with the idea of the Golden Pair being a couple. And that they even approved of it, actually. Oyaji-Anzai's words came back to me and I finally understood them.

I guess I said that it was my sweetest kiss, because I was thinking about sugar and candies and desserts… but not that I think of it more, I realize that that it wasn't the real reason why this kiss was the first one that came to mind when you asked me to talk about it.

The fact was that I had shared it with Kaede, and that it was that moment that it finally dawned on me that those that I considered to be my closest friends cared about me, really cared about me – about us – and would always be there for me.

I realized that I had a **real** family that extended over my grandparents.

And that, that simple knowledge, only made that kiss so much sweeter.

…

… My **real** first kiss?

I- I…

I don't know.

…

Maybe another time, alright? I think-

I think I want to go see Kaede right now…

Later.

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October 23, 2005

I like reviews. Very much. Because I'm a poor girl with a very dirty mind who makes no money from these stories I write. Now make me happy and review!

Oh, and thank you to those who have previously reviewed the other parts of this story and the **Indirect Confession** SD oneshot. (Did Tina Caps actually review both? –squeals like a teenage fangirl-)


	5. Part 5: The First Real Kiss

**Title:** Kisses – Part 05: First Real Kiss  
**Author:** Viv  
**Genre:** romance/humor/light drama  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Fandom:** Slam Dunk book - manga  
**Pairing:** HanaRu (What else?)  
**Disclaimer:** I barely know a lick about basketball, hadn't it been for the books.  
**Summary:** _… You want me to talk about what? _Hanamichi's POV – part 05.

**Author's note:** Not as much humor in this part as in the previous ones, I'm afraid. Aaaah, well. Enjoy.

* * *

Hi. 

… I know, it's been a while, hasn't it? Well, what else would you expect from a busy university student?

Well that isn't entirely true, I suppose. Right after I told you guys about my sweetest kiss (… I'm NOT blushing!), I guess I needed some time to take a break.

Not a break from Kaede! Not at all!

Not that he'd even accept one… which is a good thing, I believe.

Anyway, that trip down memory lane got me quite emotional and when Kaede found me not long, he pretty much started panicking when he realized that I was – or at least, have been – crying. That took me a good hour or so to reassure him that the reason why my eyes were red (and that my nose was possibly running) wasn't because I was sad or hurt. In fact, I was maybe kind of ashamed that he'd seen me in that state. (I know Rukawa feels embarrassed too whenever he gets a tad bit more emotional than his usual – you'd think he was a block of ice if didn't have eyes or if you didn't know him well enough.)

When I eventually convinced him that I was actually reminiscing about my seventeen birthday, kitsune turned a interesting shade of red, remembering that he was pretty much the one who gave it away to our friends.

But, hey, we did a pretty darn job of keeping our relationship secret for almost a year! It wasn't that hard in public really, since we tended – and still do – to butt heads and fight all the times on everything, although our techniques for venting our frustrations or anger were different.

I yelled at him a lot in public and then would give him the silent treatment when we were alone. It was the other way around for him; in public he barely, preferring to mock me by not responding to my antics, while away from the prying eyes of others he'd always be seeking me out with a somewhat accusing tone in his voice.

It had always been like that.

My first real _willing _kiss (and coincidentally, his too) happened during my rehabilitation period after my back injury from the Sannoh game. Rukawa's training camp with the Japan junior team happened to be close by the hospital where I was staying.

It became a habit for me to go to the nearby beach each morning. At first I would go there every few days to read letters from Haruko-san and eventually the newspapers that spoke of the Shohoku team and the letters from my teammates that Youhei never failed to bring each week. Of course the rest of the team also came to visit me regularly and asking for news of the kitsune at the same time. I would usually just growl out something about seeing him sometimes jogging by whenever I went to the beach before wolfing down the chocolates and baked sweets that they always thought of bringing.

After that, when Mitchy, Ryochin or one of the guntai would lend me a manga (or occasionally, a book from Megane-kun) I took it to go to the beach each day to read it (or a chapter at a time whenever it was a novel) before taking some time to watch the waves before me. I was somewhat fascinated by the seemingly never ending ocean and its slow movements, the few birds circling around the beach and the occasional cool breeze. The lack of big noises reminded to breathe and to slow down my rhythm of life a bit. Those few hours I spent by myself was enough to calm me down and push me through the day and the at first excruciatingly painful therapy sessions I would go through. Sometimes when it got too much, I would also go to the beach in the late evening to unwind.

Originally the doctors and nurses were against it, but when one of my therapists noticed that my mood seemed to be much better on days when she would pick me up (or rather, catch me) at the beach in the morning, she pointed it out to the nurses and the doctor and other therapists following my progress. Eventually they seemed to realize that what she said was true and soon I was even encouraged to go to the beach in the morning.

I said before that the beach was what calmed me the most, right? Well at first it was, but then eventually I had to convince myself that it still was so.

What happened?

Rukawa Kaede happened that's what.

I remember the first letter I got from Haruko-chan (even now kitsune still seems to be a bit miffed whenever I call her that way… then again, that could mean nothing to the glares Gori still directs to me occasionally). I was giddy and happy because at that time I was fairly sure I was still quite infatuated with her (though I thought it was love back then) and rushed to read it at the beach where no one would disturb me.

The moment she mentioned Rukawa, however, I grew quite annoyed before realized that I had also felt a slight pinch to my heart. I attributed that to be hurt that Haruko-chan still had a deep crush on my archrival.

That was, until I looked up from the letter and saw _him_ running by.

I remember him pausing and staring at me – weeks later I would find out that he had been shocked and frozen at my sight – before finally settling on pulling open the jacket of his uniform to show me the "Japan" boldly imprinted across his chest on his game uniform.

I admit, I was infuriated and had started yelling at him the moment he turned his back to me resumed his run.

Then he stopped again and I found myself falling silent, not understanding why he was just standing there.

Rukawa was only a few meters away from, a hand over his eyes to shield them from the sun as he seemed to watch something in the far, far horizon. It was a if he was in a world of his own.

I saw the waves close to licking the soles of his sneakers, the rays of sun making his slightly (if barely) darkened skin glow and his sweat glistens over his body, I watched as a stronger breeze caused his windbreaker to flap away from his body, as it ruffled his hair, his deep, cold blue eyes, bright even under the shade his hand created, seemed to glazed over with something I couldn't quite recognized.

It was fleeting moment, and in that very brief moment I felt my heart suddenly flutter, my gaze refusing to leave his sight.

What broke me out of my trance – and consequently, the moment – was one of my therapists calling out to me. It was strange, really, how everything suddenly became so- so _ordinary_ again.

Suddenly I could hear the birds chirping again, I could hear the waves crashing close to Rukawa's feet, I could hear the rumbling of an airplane, and everything seemed a bit less bright, a bit less- less- I didn't know what to think exactly. With a start, I realized that the airplane that I had heard was still in my line of vision and remember Rukawa's goal and dream.

One day he would leave for America, probably the United States.

I felt another painful tug at my heart and started if it wasn't my heart that was having a problem instead of my back.

Rukawa was still standing there when I got up and slowly turned around to face Dr. Takanaga, my gaze lingering behind, not quite ready to leave his figure.

"It's time."

Takanaga-san's voice pulled my thoughts away from the kitsune. I grinned at her though inside I was still confused by what had just happened.

"Today, it will be a bit harder."

"Uh huh, let's go!"

The doctor chuckled. I knew she was growing fond of me. In fact, the entire staff was, even if they kept scowling me for being loud and obnoxious – hey, they just wouldn't admit how much they adored me! I mean who wouldn't?

NYHAHAHAHAHAHA!

"So, you're not scared? You'll make it through, Sakuragi-kun?"

"Ha ha ha! What kind of question is that!"

Behind me, I heard soft footsteps walking away and glanced behind me to see Rukawa walking away.

Another tug at my heart.

I ignored and directed my gaze to Takanaga-san who was walking slightly behind me and smiled.

"Because I'm a tensai."

My eyes had unwillingly strayed back to his tall form halfway between my belated answer.

And then, as if he had felt my eyes watching him, he suddenly stopped, his head turned sideways and his icy blue orbs stared straight into my brown ones.

I faltered in my steps, my smile slipped off my lips and I was unable to pry my gaze away from his. I thought I had seen something flicker across his eyes, and was rendered rooted to the spot. I could feel my cheeks burning.

Rukawa blinked and abruptly turned away, resuming his jogging. I followed his movements, my hands clenching into fists before walking again back to the hospital.

I came back the next day. That was when I started going to the beach two days in a row.

I saw Rukawa again.

This time, he came earlier. And yet again, he paused for a moment to look at the ocean before glaring at me briefly but intensely, and running off again.

Each day I came back at the same time, a book in hand to make it look so that I was not just waiting for someone, and each day he would come at exactly the same time, about an hour into my reading.

But his figure would cut into the sunlight and stay there a bit more each day, a bit closer each time.

My heart raced a bit more each morning.

His eyes always crossed mine before leaving.

I tried convincing myself that I still went there each day for the beach and its atmosphere.

I tried telling myself that I wasn't waiting for him to appear each day, that it wasn't the sight of him that lifted my mood, that he wasn't making my heart react.

I tried telling myself that my heart would skip a beat or two in his presence only because he annoyed me, and nothing else. I wouldn't admit how mesmerized by him I was.

And then one morning a letter from Haruko-chan flew out of my hand and landed at his feet.

I remembered him staring at the sheet of paper at lying in the sand. Remembered how he bent down to pick it up, how he turned to look at me, before taking those few steps that separated us.

I remembered the feel of his warm fingers grazing mine when he handed back the letter, and remembered how his eyes darkened when he saw the signature on it. Remembered how his gaze met mine, intense and much too piercing.

I didn't see him the following morning.

Nor the day after.

I tried to remind myself that I wasn't going to the beach to see him.

I slowly sunk back into depression, yet I was still unwilling to admit I missed the fox-boy.

My guntai, who'd come see me every few afternoons, kept me occupied during those times. Kogure, Mitchy, Gori and Ryochin came each week-end and the rest of the team came along occasionally, like I said. Other teams' members also came to see me.

But that didn't change the fact that once they were gone, I was alone again.

And it felt lonely even though I had already lived by myself for a few years already.

Eventually they all started noticing that something was troubling me much more than I was willing to admit. It was one Sunday morning that Youhei asked me about it. He had sent the rest of the guntai to go buy food and such and they had quickly, strangely enough, complied without a single quip of protest.

"Hanamichi?"

"Hum?"

"Is something bothering you?"

I looked up in surprise.

"We all know something is wrong, Hanamichi. Everyone's noticed, even Sendoh was wondering why you hadn't been quite yourself lately. Heck, Kyota is worried and you know he's not quite the brightest the bulb in the box when it comes to people's feelings."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." I managed to stammer.

"Hanamichi. I'm your best friend, I think I know you enough to notice when you're not exactly yourself. What's going on, buddy."

"Absolutely nothing!"

"Hanamichi! You smile but your eyes seem dull, you laugh but it sounds empty, you talk less and less whenever we come to see you, and the nurses and doctors are telling that you've barely made any progress over the last two weeks even though you started out so well. What else do you want me to point out?"

"I- I just… I don't know."

I thought of blue.

Blue ocean.

Blue sky.

Blue eyes.

My heart thumped painfully.

"Hanamichi?"

"I don't know, Youhei."

Youhei shook his head and smiled sadly before dropping a hand on my shoulder and squeezing it as if telling me that he'd wait for when I'd be ready to talk about it, but that I shouldn't keep it to myself for too long. He never asked me again after that, but I could see the concern never quite leaving anyone's eyes whenever they came to visit.

I started taking late evening trips to the beach again, trying to find some comfort in watching the sun set and the beach quieting down. I'd let the murmur of the waves lull me into a different world.

Where everything was blue.

Blue.

That was all that I saw when my eyes opened one evening while I was lying on the sand.

Blue.

Blue eyes.

Blue eyes that were crinkled in worry and suddenly blinked in shock when they met my gaze.

Something warm and slightly rough but gentle swept under the corner of my eyes and when I felt it move away, I realized that I was crying.

And that Rukawa was staring down at me, his eyes soft.

Before I knew it, my hands shot out to grab his shoulders, needing to feel his skin, his body, to make sure that I wasn't making some kind of strange dream, that I wasn't hallucinating. I didn't want him to disappear again.

Rukawa turned out to be real and living, his eyes widening as he froze and stared at me longer.

I ruefully remember, as embarrassing as it was, screaming at him for the next minute or so. Shrieking, almost, before it all died down to whimpers and sobs.

"DON'T YOU EVER DISAPPEAR LIKE THAT AGAIN, YOU HEAR ME YOU STUPID FOX!"

"…"

"Don't you dare avoid me! Never do that again! Never! Do you hear me kitsune? Do you hear me?"

I was still shaking when his arms slowly surrounded me and pulled me up against his chest, my hands gripping the front of his sweater, his fingers running up and down my back. A shiver ran through my body different from the previous ones.

"What did you do to me?"

His nose pressed closed to my ear, his smooth cheek against mine, I abandoned myself to the emotions that I had failed, or maybe refused, to recognize and admit until then.

"It hurts to not see you, Rukawa. My heart hurt more each day I didn't see you."

He pulled back.

"Do'ahou."

"What? You-"

His eyes were what stopped me from finishing that sentence (… or insult? Ummm… heh, what!) and I– we never knew who moved first, who pulled the other one against him first, but I knew that not even a second later, his lips were on mine and mine on his in the softest of kisses.

My mind went blank when we both pulled back slightly, our foreheads pressed together, our gaze not quite meeting. I couldn't speak, couldn't think, couldn't move. I was feeling dizzy and light-headed, warm and giddy and just, just…

We literally collapsed into each others' arms, not yet fully understanding what had happened, only moving unconsciously as our lips met again and this time I tasted him, shy but hot and hungry and nothing else mattered anymore.

I remember wiping away the saliva trickling down my chin before reaching up to run my thumb gently over his lower lip, red and glistening from our kiss.

And then reality suddenly hit when my eyes met his again and-

"I'm not in love with you kitsune!"

Rukawa only blinked repeatedly as a response, completely stunned and something like hurt seemed to flash across his usually expressionless ice orbs. Something painful tugged at my heart again.

"Wait! That's not- I mean, I didn't-" I faltered, uncertain of what to say, before heatedly asking him, "how do you feel about me Rukawa?"

What followed was not exactly an awkward silence, but nor was it comfortable.

My heart throbbed again.

And reality hit me again like a speeding truck.

I was afraid.

Afraid that what had happened meant absolutely nothing to him, that it was all in the heat of the moment, that I had made a fool of myself. I was mad at my body for betraying me so easily, scared that I wouldn't be able to hide how I truly felt.

And then, as if he was only a faint whisper of the wind, a murmur that could have been missed-

"I love you, Hanamichi."

I stopped trembling.

His nose gently bumped into mine, his deep, slightly scratchy voice slowly rising.

"Aishiteru, do'ahou."

"Hey! What did you just call me you baka kitsune! How dare you tell me- you- you told me…"

I saw the corners of his mouth curl up slightly, his blue eyes lighting up in a mixture of mischief, relief and happiness as he dropped another soft kiss on my lips.

"Ru- Rukawa, you really…"

A small nod and I realized that he was actually terrified. It was all that took for me to practically melt into his arms and bury my head into the crook of his neck.

He loved me! He _loved_ me!

We laid there for a while, until the sky turned completely dark, watching the stars appear one by one.

But I still had one unanswered question.

"Hey, Rukawa?"

"Kaede."

"What? Oh, Kaede."

"…"

"Why did you suddenly disappear? Were you avoiding me?"

His fingers stopped moving over my arm and he remained silent for a moment.

"Yes."

"But… why?"

"The letter."

"What?"

"The letter you were reading that day, from Akagi-san."

"Haruko?"

"Hnn."

"What about it?"

"… Jealous."

I bolted up into a seating position and out of his embrace.

"WHAT?"

"… I know, that was stupid."

"That was it? Stupid fox! Haruko-san writes each week to keep me updated on the team since they can't come visit me that often!"

"Hearbroken."

"… What?"

"I was heartbroken."

"What?"

"You were in love with her."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"I guess it would make sense for you – and everyone else – to believe that…"

"Hnn."

"I wasn't."

"Huh?"

"I've realized today that I felt towards her had more to with infatuation and brotherly feelings… In fact," I chuckled, "I guess that had I been her brother you could've said that I had a sister complex."

"Hnn."

"It's the truth, kitsune. Not seeing you pained me more than not seeing her… In fact, ever since the last time I saw you almost three weeks ago, I barely thought about her anymore when I was alone. You were always on my mind ever since the first day I saw you here… And you know what else?"

"Hum?"

"I kept playing the game because of you, not her."

Kaede remained quiet a few seconds before whispering: "And you know what?"

"Mmm?"

"I couldn't stop thinking of you ever since that day either. Couldn't forget that image of you."

"Why?"

"Because you're a tensai?"

I flushed and laughed, remember those words.

"You were beautiful."

"Huh?"

"My breath caught in my throat the moment when you looked at me. I got scared and I ran off… but I couldn't keep away from you and kept coming back each day. But I first thought that I was just trying to convince myself that you didn't make my heart wasn't fluttering or anything whenever I saw you."

I shook my head and chuckled running a hand through his soft, black hair.

"We're both idiots. I felt the same."

"I tried convincing myself I wasn't jealous."

"I tried telling myself I didn't miss you."

"But I was. Very much."

"And I did. Terribly."

"Two idiots… perfect match, I'd say."

"Ah, Kaede?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you too."

And Kaede gave me the first of those rare and precious smiles he gave only to me, along with a chaste kiss that did not failed to make me feel giddy.

We later fell asleep on the beach and it wasn't until morning that one of my therapists, Dr. Yamane this time, found us.

It's almost hard to believe, isn't it?

My- his- _our_ first real kiss was almost an accident too.

After that we kept meeting each morning at that same place, shyly holding hands and watching the waves together. Sometimes he came to visit me when the others came, and other times he would come see me in the evening, and we'd stroll along the beach or even go out. He insisted on feeding me something other than hospital foods and the sweets I was stuffing myself with.

Everyone noticed my shift in mood, and soon the hospital staff and my friends were back at teasing and scowling me.

"I'm guessing everything's been solved?" Youhei asked me the following time he came to visit me after that fateful day. The rest of the guntai had fled the room in favour of the cafeteria (where else) after I had given them a few headbutts for making fun of my red hair (once again).

I nodded, grinning brightly.

"Yup, the others will be happy to know that Hanamichi Sakuragi the tensai is back."

I laughed and patted my best friend on the back. "Indeed, indeed, Youhei Mito!"

"Do'ahou."

"Baka kitsune! Don't scare me like that! Don't you have practice right now?"

"Day off, Ha- 'ahou."

"And you just _had_ to come piss me off with your presence, fox-boy!"

"Do'ahou."

Youhei laughed and excused himself to get some drinks. Right as he left the room, he sent us a seemingly knowing smile before disappearing.

Kitsune turned to me, muttering something.

"What?"

"He knows."

"Wha-? But-"

"He's your best friend, and from what I've seen so far, he's quite good at reading people… Not that you're all that hard to read to start with."

"What does that mean?"

"…"

"FOX-BOY! WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?"

Nurse Honami's head popped through the doorway of my room. "Sakuragi-kun! Be quiet! If you want to be loud go outside!"

I blushed. "Sorry, Honami-san."

"Really Hana-chan, we don't know what to do with you anymore…"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

"Hanamichi Sakuragi, be quiet!"

"… Sorry nurse."

Fox-boy smirked. I retaliated by giving him the silence treatment… for ten minutes.

We continued this charade during the rest of my therapy at the hospital. Other than Yamane-san, nobody really knew about our situation… well, except for maybe nurse Yamato, who'd kept giggling whenever she came to check on me and kitsune was there.

And the day that I was finally released from the hospital and sent home back, I just could not wait for Kaede to come back soon after to start a new basketball season together and wow the country as the 'Golden Pair' again.

And mostly, to be simply be able to see each other each day and be together.

* * *

February 27, 2006 

Ahwawawawa! Four months? Don't kill me! I'm sorry! On the other hand, this took me less than a day to write. I should go to bed soon, it's past 4 in the morning already for me…

Yes, I know this part is much less funny than the rest, but since the rest of the characters didn't appear very much, it seemed harder to make up comical situations. I apologize to those of you who were expecting to get some good laughs form this one like all the previous chapters.

By the way all of the doctors and nurses names in here givenods to some of my favourite (manga) authors. If you can figure out who each of them are, I congratulate you, you make me proud!

Aah, I am now the proud owner of the final volume (31) of Slam Dunk… the French version, that is. Actually, it was published more than a year ago but I didn't discover Slam Dunk until last summer and managed to finish the entire series in barely a few months by borrowing whichever number I could find at the 'Grande Bibliotheque Nationale' in Montreal. In other words, I didn't even read the story in order. Heh! (I tend to do that with most French-published mangas now, grab whatever I can when I really like a serie.)

The part where Hanamichi is talking with Dr. Takanaga while leaving the beach, on the first day he sees Rukawa, was taken out directly from the ending in volume 31. I actually translated the French version to what we have here, quite literally, and also gave a slightly altered version of the scene (because we all know that they eyes didn't cross and they instantly fell madly in love!). So if any of it seems kind of awkward, I'm sorryyyy.

Enough rambling… remember, you can also follow my stories (including real peoples based ones) and leave comments at livejournal(dot)com/users/childishgrin.

Later,

-Viv


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